Baby, My Baby
by 18lzytwner
Summary: Olivia is struggling to juggle work, home, and attempts to rekindle a friendship with Elliot when a case hits a little close to the team's home. Can Olivia and the team catch the bad guy? Will Social Services quit bothering Liv and Noah? Will Elliot say "screw friendship"? Find out! :) E/O Second in series!
1. Chapter 1

**Baby, My Baby**

_By_

_18lzytwner_

**Chapter 1**

Sergeant Olivia Benson sat at her desk in her office, reading over her detectives' fives on the latest case they wrapped up. Well she was supposed to be reading them. Her mind was preoccupied after the latest hearing regarding the custody of Noah. Juggling her job and her foster child had been difficult but she was up for the challenge.

She had been appalled that Social Services was trying to take her to court, as if she had caused Noah's previously broken ribs and breathing problems. For once she was glad that Counselor Trevor Langan was on her side. Technically he was Noah's attorney but he knew that she would never harm Noah and she was certainly better than putting him back into the system. Although Benson's recent abduction made the case a little harder to prove. Still at the first hint of danger, where she would have ordinarily taken her chances instead of protective custody or having a detail, she got out. She even found a new apartment with Fin's help that put her closer to the precinct and a nearby playground.

Regrettably, Carmine Regetti was still at large but the FBI and Homeland had his operation in a vice and there was little chance of the mobster trying anything for a little while. It had been eight weeks since Elliot's release from the hospital and there was silence from the criminal. Elliot was due to get his cast off later today and he planned to be out of Kathy's hair tomorrow. His job working security at the storage facility was still available, at reduced hours however, and his landlord/boss was glad to see him coming back. He had found an apartment while he was laid up and had worked out a rental agreement for the place which entailed him working security at the building during the day. It was going to be tough working two jobs but in order to actually have an apartment, he needed to do it. Olivia wondered how often she would see him as they tried to patch up their friendship but it was good to see him pulling himself up by the bootstraps.

"Sergeant?" The question from her doorway, made her put her thoughts away.

"What's up Rollins?" Benson asked.

"We've got a case up at the hospital. You want me and Fin to take the interview or head to the crime scene?" The blonde wondered.

"Take the interview and tell Amaro and Carisi to check out the scene. Fill me in on my cell. I need to get home to take to Noah to a doctor's appointment," Olivia explained.

"You got it. See you in the am," Rollins nodded. The blonde turned and left the office. Olivia watched them go and she quickly picked up her paperwork. She'd read the fives later.

At the doctor's office, Liv kept her focus on little Noah. He seemed to be such a happy baby. He had no idea what was going on and she hoped that he'd never have to. At this point, she could not imagine her life without him.

"Olivia?" Doctor Paget, Noah's pediatrician, asked.

"Sorry, there's a lot going on. I'm worried about Noah, the colder weather and all," the Sergeant admitted.

"Well you're doing everything you can and we're doing everything we can. Nothing to worry about. Luckily, he's small enough that he'll be ok. There may be some lingering conditions but we caught it now and we know what to look for and keep an eye out for," the doctor reassured her. Olivia nodded.

"Hey do need help? You seem a bit distracted," Paget commented.

"Sorry. There's a lot going on. I want to be the best mother I can be but Social Services is not helping," Olivia admitted.

"I am sorry for that. Not to worry though. I gave the judge my medical opinion. You should have nothing to worry about," Paget smiled.

"Thank you Doctor," the Sergeant scooped Noah up and put him into his car seat.

"Any time. Don't worry about calling me with any questions. You have my number," the doctor smiled again.

"Yes ma'am," Olivia nodded.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: A shout out to inescapela2001. Thanks for your review! I hope you like the new chapter. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Not long after she'd gotten Noah and herself into the apartment and started making dinner, she got a phone call from Fin. She moved the pot of semi-boiling water off the hot burner and answered her cell.

"Benson,"

"Hey Liv, it's Fin. We're done at the hospital. The victim, Sherry Rodgers, is in pretty bad shape. She has broken ribs, a puncture lung, two black eyes, a fractured jaw, and two broken arms after telling her ex, who showed up at her house, that she wouldn't have sex with him. The Doctor said it looked like her assailant used his fists and his feet. Rodgers just woke up from surgery and told us that we had to get over to her house to get her daughter, Samantha. Problem is, Amaro and Carisi have been there with the crime scene guys and they didn't find any daughter. I sent out an Amber Alert but the techs say that with the amount of blood they found at the house, they aren't very hopeful," he told her.

"Damn," she cursed.

"Yeah and it gets worse. Rodgers had a restraining order out on her ex-husband, Stephen Boze. Amaro sent some uniforms to his apartment and it looks like he left in a hurry," Fin explained.

"So you think he packed before he came over to her house or after?" Olivia asked.

"I think before. Her neighbor, John Mock, is the one who called the local precinct. He recognized her ex's car and called as quickly as he could. We had to get prints and DNA from him so we can rule him out. He entered the house after he called it in and he and Boze got into it. Boze managed to run out to his car after knocking Mock down. The neighbor said he let him go thinking that Samantha wasn't home and wanting to get to Sherry. The guy is a mess because he thinks that he let Boze kidnap Samantha," he said.

"Something is hinky. No way does the daughter just let her father beat up her mother and no way does Boze have time to hurt her before Mock intervened. You need to press Sherry. This sounds like she was ambushed not that she just let her ex into her home," Olivia told him.

"I'd agree with you on that except that Sherry was really specific. She said that she had just gotten home and that he forced his way in when he came up from behind her and grabbed her. He forced her to unlock the door and then once inside he tried to assault her but she bashed him with her purse, shouted for Samantha to run, and that's when his rage took over. He just started beating her and she lost consciousness soon after the first few blows to her head," Fin gave her a little more background.

"Then we have something much bigger at play here. See if you can find out what Boze's background is. If he did kidnap his daughter, he probably had help. My guess is that his partner snatched up Samantha before Sherry got home, the intention of course to get her away from the scene so Boze could have his way with Sherry. Although with a lot of blood maybe his partner had other ideas," Olivia hypothesized.

"I'll get Carisi digging into it. Meantime, I'll see if Rollins can get more out of Sherry. I'm going to question Mock again. He might know more or he might have seen something without realizing," Fin nodded even though Olivia couldn't see.

"I'll call Lucy and head into the precinct. I need to get ahead of this before Deputy Chief Dodds comes to remind me how to do my job. We need to find Samantha and fast," she said.

"All right on it," with that the phone call ended and Olivia quickly called her babysitter, Lucy. She had been lucky to find the young woman who was practically at her beck and call. She had apologized profusely to Lucy many times about the unexpected phone calls at all hours but the young lady had brushed it off, saying that Noah was one of the easiest kids she had ever babysat.

"Lucy, it's…" Olivia didn't even get to finish.

"On my way," Lucy said.

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A shout out to inescapela2001. Thanks for your review! Hope you like this chapter. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"So where are we?" Dodds asked as he entered the precinct the next morning. Olivia had been right. For whatever reason the Deputy Chief had something out for her and the unit and she hoped the news they could give him would have him back off.

"The lab confirmed the blood type that was found at the scene. It wasn't Samantha's. Whoever the blood belongs to, they are Type A and Samantha is Type O. The lab is running any DNA that they can find through the system. If our guy was trying to help Boze, maybe we'll get lucky and he's in the system," Fin started.

"So if it's not the little girl's blood, where is she?" Dodds gave them a questioning look.

"The Amber Alert hasn't panned out yet. Something doesn't add up though. CSU noted that there were two sets of footprints in the yard, heading down the side of the house. The snow gave us messy impressions but the mud that was near the dryer exhaust and up closer to the house gave us some clear ones. Two sets belonging to two males; one is about size eleven and the other is about size nine. No footprints belonging to Samantha, at age eight, she only wears a size five," Rollins filled in.

"Where is this going?" The Chief was losing his patience.

"Lucky for us their exit from the front door would have been cut off by Boze and his assault on Sherry. Now they headed back out the side door which they entered by force," Nick said, showing the picture on the bulletin board. The side door had the glass smashed on the one side and there on the other was blood smeared all over it.

"So there were multiple kidnappers and somehow one of them ended up bleeding all over. The little girl is somehow trained in dangerous weapons?" Dodds was incredulous.

"No. Her mom was taking her to Tae Kwon Do classes. We found her karate gear in her room. My guess is she made one of them pay with the knife he brought," Nick continued.

"Ok. Samantha is brave enough to take one guy on. She does and then tries to get away when she bumps into our second guy. Unable to take him on, maybe he has a gun, or maybe our wounded suspect has her backed into a corner between them, she is forced to go with them. No footprints would indicate that our uninjured assailant picked her up and carried her to his car. Then how come we haven't found the second guy or the weapon?" The Chief wondered. Olivia was about to answer that when her phone rang.

"Benson," she answered. It was a brief call and she hung up only moments after she answered.

"We've got a floater they just fished out of the river. He has a large stab wound to his stomach. The guys at the two-seven thought we'd be interested," she said.

"Meet them at the morgue?" Fin asked.

"Take Rollins with you," Olivia nodded. Fin nodded and grabbed his coat; the blonde quickly did the same. They left and Dodds turned to the remainder of the team.

"All right so we may have a lead on this guy. How do they tie into Boze and where is he?" He wanted to know.

"We alerted Amtrak, the airports, and the bus stations. We also alerted the toll barriers. No one has seen him. I sent some unis to sit on his mom's place in case he shows up there," Olivia explained.

"Bases covered. Is this guy really that sneaky? Is he working with the two guys that took his daughter?" The Chief questioned.

"That we don't know. I think that if they were working together, we'd have some evidence of it. We dumped Boze's cell phone and home phone records and I checked his bank accounts. The guy is broke, in debt up to his eyeballs to the bank. I called his employer and they say that he asked for a cash advance on his last paycheck. The only calls he makes are to his mother, his boss, and his lawyer. So if he's got a bookie, he's using a different phone for communication," Carisi spoke up.

"So he probably didn't pay those guys to help him. What if kidnapping her was a way to get him to pay back some of his debt? I mean you don't have to place bets via phone," Dodds pointed out.

"True. I've got calls into some of my CI's and I'm hoping someone knows something. If not, Organized Crime and Fraud are getting me lists of known loan sharks in the area around Boze's apartment," Nick said.

"Well it seems you have everything under control. Keep me in the loop. We have a press conference at three pm. I'm going to bring the Amber Alert to people's attention again and see if anything shakes loose," the Chief informed them. He then turned and left.

"Are we going to have to deal with him on every case?" Nick asked once he was out of earshot.

"God, I hope not. I have no idea why he has it in for this unit," Olivia heaved a sigh.

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A shout out to inescapela2001. Dodds is really a piece of work. lol Glad you liked it and thanks!**

**A/N 2: Elliot pokes his head out so watch out for that... ;) Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Down at the morgue, Melinda was chatting with Detectives Lupo and Bernard from the twenty-seventh precinct when Fin and Rollins walked in. Fin broke into the conversation with the introduction of Rollins and they all exchanged hellos.

"Ordinarily we'd let our ME handle this but seeing as he may have something to do with your case, we figured that Miss Melinda would want to have a look," Bernard explained.

"That and our ME had a five car pileup involving a few pedestrians to deal with," Lupo offered. Rollins made a face and Melinda turned their attention to the body at hand.

"So our guy bled out from the wound to the stomach, though he has a nasty gash on his arm, probably from the fall into the river though," she said.

"Hold up. How do we know this is our guy anyway? No offense guys, but floaters in the river aren't exactly headline news," Fin commented considering just how often they had to deal with them.

"True but it's what we found on him that makes it a little more interesting," Bernard grabbed one of the evidence bags from the nearby table and handed it to Fin.

"That's your missing girl right?" He asked as both Fin and Rollins looked at the water logged photo.

"Could be. Where'd you find the picture?" Fin wanted to know.

"Inside jacket pocket. It was the only thing on him. Seems his buddy took his wallet and ID," Lupo explained.

"I'm waiting for the Lab to pick up the evidence so they can enhance the picture but since this is what we've got, I'd say run with it," Melinda chimed in.

"Ok, so what about the wound? We found blood all over the scene," Rollins was confused at how such a tiny hole would cause so much blood to be on the floor.

"I'm having his blood typed now and having the DNA run to see if they match our dead guy and the scene. As far as the wound, a blade about three inches long and serrated on one side went in and my guess is that he pulled it out, leaving the blood at the scene. Now the only way this knife goes into a body up to the hilt like that is by a large amount of force. The girl wouldn't have had the upper body strength to do it on her own," the coroner said.

"What about an eight year old with an orange belt in Tae Kwon Do?" Fin asked. Melinda looked at him and thought about it for a few moments.

"It's possible but I'm still not sure how she would have done it. She'd have to disarm him and get it away from him before making her move. Otherwise, I'm not sure how she could have stabbed him," she said.

"You have to understand, her mother has a restraining order out on her ex-husband. She took her daughter to self-defense classes. When I talked to the mom she was afraid of her ex and even though she didn't say it, my guess is that there was more than one reason for it," Rollins spoke up. She'd seen how jittery Sherry had been and how she had to know something more about her and her husband's relationship but was refusing to speak it out loud.

"Self-preservation at all costs? Maybe she does have enough strength or maybe I need to examine the wound more carefully," Melinda had a look on her face that told everyone she was having an idea. She went back to the wound tract and looked at it for several minutes.

"Let me get back to you about that. Samantha may have inflicted a wound but my guess is that our second helper might have finished the job," she said.

"That means we have a murdering psychopath holding an eight year old," Fin gave her a look.

"Not a pleasant prospect," Melinda nodded. The detectives heaved a collective sigh.

"You guys need anything, you let us know ok?" Lupo spoke up.

"Oh will do. Thanks for handing this one over. If it turns out that it's not our guy, we'll let you know," Fin nodded. With that the detectives from the two-seven departed and Fin and Rollins said goodbye to Melinda before heading back to the precinct.

At the precinct, Olivia was wishing some evidence would come in before Chief Dodds held his press conference. She understood the need to let a wider audience know of the Amber Alert but she worried that it might only make it worse for Samantha if she was alive. Her cell phone rang and she picked it up without looking.

"Benson,"

"Stabler," there was a slight chuckle on the other end of the phone.

"Hey El. What's up?" She asked, glad to hear his voice.

"We still on for dinner tonight?" He wanted to know; knowing all too well how plans got changed at the precinct.

"I'm having my doubts. We ran into something pretty ugly today," Olivia heaved a sigh.

"Say no more. Maybe I'll swing by the precinct and make sure you had some food today. Lucy has Noah, I'm assuming," Elliot said.

"She does but she's dropping him off at the precinct at five because she's got some personal things to deal with," she explained.

"That girl is a saint. Why don't I swing by at five and I'll handle the little tyke while you work?" He asked.

"It's your one night off. I can't ask you to do that," she said.

"You didn't, I offered. Besides it'll give me a chance to see two of my favorite people," Olivia could tell he was smiling on the other end simply by his tone.

"All right then. See you at five," she smiled to herself.

"Sounds like a plan. Love you," with that the phone call ended. Olivia's eyes went wide at his last statement. Had she heard him right? What about trying to work out some sort of friendship? Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. He was probably in the habit from talking with his kids; they'd been rebuilding their relationships at the same time at the former partners had been. What if it wasn't a slip? She'd be lying if she said that when they were working together, she'd hadn't had unclean thoughts about him. They'd always played the "he's married and I'm damaged goods" cards and they both knew that crossing that last line was something they both couldn't do. Now however there was nothing to hold them back except their own hang-ups; his getting sober and her dealing with the aftermath of her recent kidnappings. Shaking her head, she left the comfort of her office to speak with Fin and Rollins as they walked into the bullpen.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Samantha Boze is only eight years old. We're looking for anyone with any information about her whereabouts to contact the Manhattan Special Victims Unit at the number on the bottom of your screens. It is imperative that we find her. Her mother is in the hospital recovering from an illness and has asked me to spread word of her disappearance. We are working to find her father, Stephen Boze, who I've been told is hunting and is out of cell phone range. Samantha was last seen at her house by a neighbor," Chief Dodds spoke from the podium while a picture of Samantha was being broadcast along with the precinct's number

"She's been missing for almost twenty four hours and we're broadcasting this to the tri-state area. Please call us with her whereabouts or her father's so that we can reunite this family. We need your help and so does little Samantha," he finished the broadcast, which had been closed to the media. He was hoping that someone would call in soon and that the lie about her father would make it easier to find him too. Bare minimum Stephen Boze was to be arrested and charged with violating the restraining order and assault. With him off the streets, they may be able to get a lead on Samantha.

"Here it comes," Fin started from his desk inside the precinct.

"What?" Rollins asked. She'd barely gotten the word out of her mouth when the phones started ringing off the hook.

"That," Olivia said. She stood in the doorway to her office watching as everyone was picking up their phones and jotting down possible leads. She wondered how long it would take for them to get something legit. Sometimes these things did nothing but make the local crackpots call in with false information.

"I got a call from someone claiming she was abducted by aliens," Nick said after he hung up.

"Where's Munch when you need him?" Olivia sighed.

"I got another one saying that he saw her buying cigarettes at a bodega," Rollins shook her head. Olivia cocked an eyebrow before he headed back to her phone as it rang.

"This is Sergeant Benson," she answered.

"I saw the girl you're looking for in Central Park just an hour ago," the man on the other end of the line said.

"Central Park? Ok, what side of the park?" She asked.

"Near Central Park West and eighty-sixth," he said.

"Got it. What's your name?" Olivia wanted to know. She never found out as the man hung up. She quickly left the room and handed the tip off to some uniforms.

"Anyone have anything credible?" She asked an hour later as the phone calls began to wane.

"Nothing yet. Mostly what I got is crazies," Fin shook his head.

"Me too," Nick chimed in. Olivia heaved a sigh. Her tip hadn't panned out either. No one had seen her anywhere near the park when asked by the uniforms. The others she'd answered were mostly unhelpful and definitely calls from people looking for attention.

"I might have gotten something!" Rollins shouted as she put her phone on speaker.

"Ma'am, I'm still here. Will you tell my Sergeant what you just told me?" The blonde asked.

"I saw the little girl being hustled out of the basement of my building. I was down there doing wash and my neighbor, Carl Gregg, had her by the shirt collar. He saw me and said his niece was acting up and I just nodded and then I called you," the lady said.

"Where are you and what is your neighbor's name?" Olivia wanted to know.

"I'm on the Lower East Side," she then went on to give her full address.

"Why did you not believe him that it was his niece?" Rollins asked.

"Because the man can't be trust around animals. No one would give him their kid to watch," the lady told them. Olivia swallowed hard as Rollins thanked the woman before ending the call.

"Let's roll out! We've got a credible tip. I want background on this guy, Carl Gregg, Carisi. Radio it to us on our way," she ordered.

"You got Sergeant," Carisi answered as Fin, Rollins, Nick, and Olivia headed out.

To Be Continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Some dark stuff in this chapter... High T rating, just so you know. I'm massively paranoid about it so it might be an overstatement but I felt a heads up was necessary.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"Carl Gregg! This is the police! Open the door!" Olivia demanded as she pounded on it. There was no answer and she gave the nod to Fin who swiftly kicked it in. The four fanned out and searched the fifth floor apartment. If Gregg had been there he was gone now.

"The apartment is clear," Olivia radioed down to the teams of officers watching the front and back entrances of the building.

"We've got something in the basement but no girl and no Gregg," some officers radioed in.

"Fin, Rollins, check every inch of the apartment for clues on where they went. Nick, with me," Olivia ordered. Quickly they were back out of the apartment and heading back down to the basement.

"What have you got for me Officer?" She asked as they found the unis.

"The lock on the storage unit belonging to the apartment of our suspect – it's been busted off," Officer Reynolds pointed out.

"You guys touch this?" Nick wondered.

"No sir. We saw this and radioed for you. Figured you'd want the tech guys to fingerprint it," Reynolds explained.

"Good call. Get CSU down here," Olivia nodded before taking a gloved hand to the door frame. She was able to pull it open as the metal bracket that kept the door locked had been damaged too and now the door swung open easily.

"What's in there?" Nick asked as she flicked on her flashlight.

"Boxes. I'm not seeing anything that someone would break the lock for," she shrugged.

"Maybe it's what is inside the boxes that he wanted," Nick said.

"Why break the lock?" Reynolds wondered.

"Maybe he left the key upstairs. Or maybe he figured he wasn't coming back so why be careful?" His partner, Officer Hancock, suggested.

"The latter is a real possibility," Olivia murmured, still reading the labels on the boxes and looking for anything out of the ordinary.

"What do you need me for?" CSU tech Abrams wanted to know.

"I want the lock and the door dusted for prints. Also, I want all these boxes searched. Gregg came down here for a reason," Olivia told him.

"No problem. Maybe we'll get something useful," Abrams smiled and got to work. The radio crackled to life and they heard Fin say,

"You better get up here quick." With that Olivia and Nick were off to find out what their colleagues found in the apartment. Hopping in the elevator, they rode up to the fifth floor and headed down the hallway. The other have of the CSU team had the door already cordoned off and was examining everything.

"How bad is it?" Olivia asked Fin.

"Found a stash of kiddie porn under the bed which is bad enough but when we examined the second bedroom a little more closely…" he just pointed into the room. Olivia walked in and immediately noticed the CSU techs holding handcuffs in their hands that were attached to the bed. Her mind flashed back to William Lewis and she swallowed hard.

"These were hidden behind the frame and they have some blood and skin cells on them. There's blood on the sheets beneath the blanket and I'm sending it to the lab," CSU tech Sekhon shook his head. He was relatively new and having trouble dealing with what he was seeing, although he felt slightly better when he saw Olivia cover her mouth with her hand. She was undoubtedly trying to stop the bile rising in her throat as he was doing the same.

"How much blood?" She wanted to know.

"Enough…" he trailed off, pointing to the space on the bed, "I'm collecting samples and hopefully we can narrow things down for you," he finished. Olivia nodded. Then she heard Rollins shout from the other room.

"What is it?" She heard Nick ask as she exited the bedroom and entered the living room.

"That was Melinda. She just confirmed her suspicions from earlier. Samantha may have stabbed our dead guy but his partner definitely finished him off. There were signs that the knife went in in almost the exact same spot as the first wound," Amanda answered.

"So our guy is that meticulous but then he leaves his apartment in a rush and breaks the lock on his storage unit?" Fin raised an eyebrow.

"He had no choice but to rush because he was afraid his neighbor would rat on him. With his dying partner, he just stabbed him and dumped the body, probably told him that they were heading to the hospital and instead he ends up in the river," Nick said.

"Any idea on where this monster is heading?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Nothing yet. Carisi said he found no other properties under Gregg's name but he put out an APB on his car, a brown two thousand and five Toyota sedan," Fin told them.

"We need to find Stephen Boze. He's the only way we're going to tie this all together. No way that Samantha's kidnapping and Sherry's assault aren't related. He hired these two guys to kidnap her and my guess is that he had no idea Gregg was a pedophile," Olivia said.

"That's why I put Carisi on trying to find a connection between the two. We missed something but now we have more to go on," Fin explained.

"Good. Let's…" she didn't get the words out of her mouth as she heard the unmistakable sound of someone retching.

"I'm on it," Fin said. He headed toward the noise and saw the new CSU tech losing his lunch out of the window.

"Find something else?" He asked, handing the guy a tissue to wipe his mouth off. Sekhon handed him the black light he used and the detective gave him a look but dutifully went to the bed that the tech was pointing to. He soon realized the reason for the new tech's loss of appetite. He set down the black light in Sekhon's kit and headed back into the living room.

"We need to catch this guy," he said, a determined look on his face.

"Is he going to be ok?" Rollins asked.

"Probably not and neither will I. That bed is covered in fluids," Fin shook his head. Nick heaved a sigh and placed his right hand on the back of his head, letting a loud breath out.

"He could have used the same spot for his kiddie porn fantasies," Rollins said, knowing they all hoped the same thing rather than the alternative that Samantha had been through an even more horrific ordeal.

"Let's head back to the precinct. We need to hope that some more leads come in," Olivia told them.

Back at the precinct, Carisi was digging into the records, trying to find something, anything that tied Stephen Boze to Carl Gregg but he was coming up empty. He banged his fist on the desk and swore under his breath.

"Tough case?" A now familiar voice asked as the person exited Olivia's office.

"You could say that," Carisi forcefully blew air out of his lungs through his lips.

"Give me some generalizations. Maybe I can help," Elliot offered as he plunked himself down in Nick's chair. Carisi nodded and quickly brought him sort of up to speed.

"Ah I see. Well I hate to admit it but maybe your assaulter met the kidnapper in rehab. You said that Sherry seemed to be hiding something. Maybe they drank a lot or maybe they had a drug problem on top of their sexual proclivities," Elliot said.

"Yeah well those sessions are confidential. How would I get that information?" Carisi gave him a look.

"Check the hospital records. If they were ever admitted for an overdose or to get their stomach pumped, you could be onto something," the elder former detective suggested.

"Good call. It's the only thing I have left. Otherwise, it's the "strangers on a train" theory," the younger man said.

To Be Continued…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"There's the rest of the gang," Elliot smiled slightly as the detectives filed back into the precinct.

"All right in ten minutes, I want to go over what we have. Samantha is still missing and we need to find her," Olivia heaved out a breath and motioned for Elliot to join her in her office.

"Rough case huh?" He asked closing the door behind him. She had chosen to sit behind her desk and he leaned forward onto the chairs in front of her desk.

"Were there ever any that weren't?" She wondered.

"Point. Why don't I take Noah to your place and keep an eye on the little guy while you enjoy the Chinese food I put in the fridge?" Elliot offered.

"Not sure I'm in the mood to eat right now," Olivia shook her head.

"Well you need to eat sometime. Have to keep your strength up. I won't get in the way. You want to say goodnight to Noah before we run away?" He wanted to know.

"Of course," she smiled slightly and got up, heading over to the stroller. Scooping up the still awake baby, she spoke to him softly.

"Who's momma's big man? Still all smiles. You have no idea how much momma appreciates your smile," she leaned in and gave him a kiss. He cooed and gave her a bigger smile.

"Well at least he seems to know who I am," admitting out loud that she had not been home as much as she would have liked.

"Of course he does. Now, we're going to head home and check out some Sports Center. Have to see if you're a T-ball man or a football man," Elliot chuckled.

"Thanks so much for doing this El," Olivia smiled.

"No trouble at all. You lucked out. He's a very good baby. We just can't say it too loudly or it'll go to his head," he smirked as he took Noah back and put him in the stroller. Suddenly, he found Olivia's arms around his neck, her head buried on his shoulder. In all the years he'd known her, she'd never been the touchy feely type. He didn't let the thought stop him from putting his arms around her and pulling her tight.

"Hey, you'll find the poor girl, you'll catch the bad guy, and you'll be home in time for dinner tomorrow," Elliot reassured her. She pulled back and gave him a smirk.

"Was there ever any doubt?" She teased.

"Of course not," he smirked too and leaned in, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, whispering as he did so,

"Go get 'em tiger." Then he pulled away and grabbed the stroller before heading out of the office and out of the bull pen.

"We're ready for you," Carisi poked his head in after Elliot left.

"Good," she nodded and she followed him out of the door and over to the board where Nick and Rollins were waiting for Fin to get off of his phone.

"What have we got?" Olivia asked.

"So our perp, Carl Gregg, helped our dead guy, who Melinda just ID'ed as Gene Sanderson, kidnap Samantha Boze. She also sent over the enhanced photo; it's definitely Samantha. Anyway, it turns out that Gregg and Sanderson did a stint in Fishkill together as cellmates. Gregg had beat up his neighbor for allegedly stealing his mail and Sanderson assaulted his girlfriend," Carisi started.

"All righty so two guys you aren't afraid to use their fists but nothing that indicates they'd want to help someone like Stephen Boze kidnap his kid," Olivia pointed out.

"True but here is where things get interesting. Sherry took Stephen to family court to sue for full custody of Samantha not too long ago. Stephen's attorney managed to convince the judge that with counselling his client would be a better father. The judge ordered mandatory anger management along with supervised visits for Stephen. The restraining order was issued, so all the visits often took place at Stephen's mom's apartment with Sherry no present. Stephen wasn't supposed to know where they lived and from what I can gather from the social worker's notes, Samantha would not tell her father where they moved. This girl wasn't afraid of him but she more than once told the social worker that she wished she didn't have to visit him," Carisi explained.

"Ok so how does this tie into anything with our two kidnappers?" She wanted to know.

"Elliot gave me an idea and I ran with it. Seems Sanderson and Gregg were ordered by the court to complete anger management once they were released from prison," he said.

"So they met at anger management," Olivia nodded.

"That's the only connection I can find," Carisi admitted. Fin finally got off of his phone and he gave Olivia a look.

"What is it?" She wanted to know.

"Some of those boxes in the storage unit were labelled to seem like decorations when in fact it was more kiddie porn and some adult porn. Our guy is an addict," Fin said.

"No wonder this guy beat his neighbor up over his mail," Rollins chimed in.

"Why would our guy mix both kinds? I mean usually if they like one, they don't like the other, right?" Carisi was confused.

"It's not typical but if the pictures are people who do not look their age our perp might not be able to tell the difference or could be he was just holding them for a friend," Nick said.

"True. If he's eyeball deep in it, you know he knows more pervs who are just as bad with all the exchanging these guys usually do," Fin pointed out.

"Ok, so we don't have anything that would seem to indicate where Gregg was headed but we do have more on just whom we're dealing with. Ideas?" Olivia asked.

"I hate to be morbid but if this guy dumped his partner in the river, what makes us think that he hasn't harmed Samantha? I mean he knows we're onto him. She's the only witness to what he did to her," Rollins spoke up.

"Then why didn't he kill her and leave her at the apartment?" Nick asked.

"Because he's got a hostage. It's his only bargaining chip," Olivia said.

"You think he'll make contact or try to disappear?" Rollins wondered.

"We've got an alert out on his car and I had the officers alert the toll booths, Amtrak, and the airports. He's got nowhere to go if he tries to leave the city so he has to be here somewhere," Olivia heaved a sigh. They weren't getting anywhere fast until her cell phone rang.

"Sergeant Benson, we believe your suspect just arrived here at his mom's," the officer on the other end of the line.

"Keep him in sight but do not engage. If he tries to leave before we get there, follow him," Benson ordered.

"Yes ma'am," with that the call was over and the team was on the move.

To Be Continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: A shout out to Cinderella1268! Thanks for your reviews to "Prisoner" and "Baby, My Baby". Glad you liked them and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**A/N2: This one is shorter than I would like but I felt this was a good stopping point. Until next week! ;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

"Stephen what are you doing here?" His mother, Sophia, asked as she opened her apartment door.

"I need help Ma," he said, pushing his way inside.

"You're all over the news and the TV. Don't you think that there are police out front?" Sophia demanded.

"I have nowhere else to go," Boze told her.

"Well you can't stay here. You beat up Sherry and Samantha is missing! What did you do to my grandbaby?" She wanted to know.

"Nothing. She's with a few friends of mine. I'm going to get her when things calm down but I need a place to crash tonight and a different car," he said.

"You're not sleeping here and you're not taking my car," Mrs. Boze said sternly.

"Ma please!" He begged.

"I'm not getting involved! You practically killed Sherry. You're going to jail for a long time and I'll not be sitting in the cell next to you!" Sophia was practically shouting now.

"You'll disturb the neighbors! I don't need the cops on me," Stephen said.

"I'll disturb whoever I damn well want to!" Sophia raised her voice again. Their argument continued to grow louder and down in the radio car the officers received the call.

"Ten-thirty-three, domestic, at your location, apartment three B," the dispatcher said.

"Ten-four, SVU ordered us to stay put," Officer Reynolds responded.

"Negative ten-ten, shots fired," the dispatcher responded.

"Ten-four!" Reynolds and his partner, Hancock, leapt from their vehicle and headed inside the building.

"Ten-thirteen, officers requiring assistance at surveillance location, shots fired, SWAT en route," the dispatcher announced over the radio inside Olivia's car.

"Damn," she swore as Fin responded that they were already on their way and to call for an ambulance.

"Ten-four," the dispatcher responded, just as they pulled up to the building, sirens and lights blaring. Olivia drew her weapon upon hopping out of the car; Fin was in front her with Rollins and Nick bringing up the rear from their car. They reached the apartment in question to find Reynolds and Hancock outside, bullet holes in the door.

"He tried to get us ma'am," Reynolds said quietly while motioning with his eyes, from his spot next to the door, up against the left doorframe.

"You guys all right?" Olivia asked just as quietly, as she moved next to Reynolds, with Fin right behind her.

"We're good. We cleared the neighboring apartments," Hancock explained, from the right doorframe; Nick and Amanda took up positions next to him. She nodded and then announced,

"Stephen Boze, this is Sergeant Benson from Manhattan SVU. Is anybody hurt in there?"

"Look what you made me do!" The response was odd considering the front door to the apartment was closed.

"We're coming in if you don't open this door and I can't guarantee anyone's safety once we break down the door. Is everyone in there all right?" Olivia tried again. The response was another bullet through the door.

"We'd better wait for SWAT," Rollins swallowed hard.

"Who is in there anyway?" Olivia asked Reynolds.

"Boze and his mom, as far as we can figure. Boze came alone," he replied. The thought immediately ran through Olivia's head that their perp has shot his mother.

"Stephen, did you shoot someone? We know that you beat up Sherry and we know that Samantha is missing. Tell us your side of the story before anyone else gets hurt," she spoke up again. She knew that SWAT was only moments behind; their heavy footsteps could be heard in the stairwell.

"You're just going to lock me up again!" He shouted.

"Right now Samantha's locked up somewhere and I'm sure she doesn't want to be," Olivia told him.

"She's safe," Boze said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. The only way to guarantee she's safe is if you tell me where she is," the Sergeant tried to reason with him as Fin pointed out that SWAT was now on the floor. It would be their show in about thirty seconds as the elder detective filled them in.

"Safe with you? She wasn't so safe with my wife!" Boze was not being helpful.

"Why wasn't she safe with Sherry? We were in their home. It was lovely and well kept. Samantha's grades were good and the social worker didn't see any problems," Olivia said.

"That social worker was keeping me from my baby! Sam hates me!" Boze was just escalating and the SWAT team leader tapped Olivia on the shoulder. Her time was up. The cameraman stuck the tiny flexible camera beneath the door.

"We've got an elderly woman down and bleeding. Suspect has a thirty-eight caliber revolver," he said. The SWAT team leader counted the bullet holes in the door and nodded. The cameraman pulled out and the three men behind the team leader grabbed their shields while the two next to him prepped the battering ram. The team leader's fingers counted down from three… two… one…

The door burst open and the men with the shields charged forward. Boze dropped his weapon and the SWAT second in command yelled for him to drop to his knees, which he did. They quickly cuffed him and then turned their attention to Sophia. She was not responsive; the bullet wound to her stomach had been bleeding for a while.

"We need a medic!" The SWAT team leader shouted into his radio.

To Be Continued…


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Shout outs to inescapela2001 and Cinderella1268! Thanks so much for your reviews. Glad you're enjoying the story. :)**

**A/N2: Shout outs to everyone reading. This chapter touches on some possibly uncomfortable things so just be aware. Thanks and I hope you like it. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9 <strong>

"You've got a lot to answer for, Stephen," Olivia told him as she and Fin were sweating him in interrogation. Nick and Amanda were down at the hospital, waiting to see if Sophia could be saved.

"She's right. We've got you for violating a restraining order, attempted murder, kidnapping, conspiracy, and at least one murder charge," Fin smirked from across the table.

"Murder? I didn't kill anybody!" Boze's voice elevated.

"Well you didn't directly kill anyone. Although I'm sure Gene Sanderson would beg to differ," Olivia said.

"What are you talking about?" Boze demanded.

"See Gene died during the commission of the kidnapping and attempted murder, so that guarantees you a murder charge. Not to mention another one if your mom dies? Why did she have to get shot Stephen? What did she do to you?" Fin wanted to know.

"I bet we already know what she did. She probably told him how stupid he was for doing that to Sherry and how upset she was that he kidnapped her granddaughter. She probably told him that she wasn't going to spend her twilight years in jail for him, seeing as he's a sorry excuse of a human being, especially since he let a pedophile kidnap his daughter," the bomb dropped, Olivia just sat back and waited for a response.

"You know what? I bet that's exactly what she said. You know pedophiles. Once people find out you're one, they assume all your friends are. But you already knew that Carl Gregg was a sicko, didn't you?" Fin laid it on.

"What are you talking about? I'm not a pedophile!" Boze screamed.

"Yeah we find that hard to believe considering what we found at Gregg's apartment," Olivia slid a folder over to the suspect and he opened it. He immediately slammed it shut.

"That's just a sample of the porn we found at Gregg's place. Not to mention the bed and the chains," she continued. Boze looked like he was going to be sick when there was a knock on the door. Fin got up to answer it. Whatever was going on, he ducked out of the room, leaving Olivia and the perp alone.

"You say that Sam hates you. That's because you couldn't help but touch her. You couldn't help crawling into her bed at night, telling her that all kids her age play games with their fathers in their beds. That's why Sherry got a restraining order didn't she? Samantha finally admitted to her mother that you were doing things to her and Sherry did the first thing she could think of and that was take you to court. The only thing I can't figure out is why she didn't tell the family court judge what was going on. He would have remanded you or at minimum sent the allegation to the DA. Of course, I suppose that won't matter once you get to Rikers and they find out you've been charged with assaulting a minor. They'll just see pedophile. You know the guys in Rikers, and any other prison they send you to; they don't like your kind. You'll find that out the hard way I imagine," she was laying it on, wondering why he hadn't cracked yet.

"Liv, we got some good news. His mom pulled through surgery. She's not out of the woods yet but we can still add that extra attempted murder charge on," Fin came back into the room, telling them what Carisi had said out in the hallway.

"Well that is good news. She can tell us all about her boy's bad habits when she wakes up," Olivia smirked.

"I'm not a pedophile! I wouldn't touch my daughter like that!" Boze shouted.

"Then why did you let Gregg take her? Why were you kidnapping her from her mother? Why did Sherry get a restraining order? Where is Samantha?" Fin demanded.

"I want a lawyer!" Just like that, the conversation was over. Liv shook her head and she and Fin left the room.

"Why wouldn't he tell us where Samantha is? You showed him the pictures, you called him a pedophile, and he just sat there," Carisi just shook his head in disbelief.

"Get on the phone to Rollins. I want Sherry talked to again. He clammed up because of something we said. He's afraid to implicate himself in something we haven't charged him with. Is forensics fingerprinting all of the porn we found?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah but it's going to take a while. The guy had hundreds of images," Carisi said.

"Have them test the adult porn for Boze's fingerprints. Maybe he liked assaulting his wife instead of his kid. He might have thought that Gregg liked adult porn too, not realizing that Gregg was just trying to get to his daughter," the sergeant ordered.

"On it," Carisi nodded before heading back to his desk. Fin gave Olivia a look and he could tell her mind was churning, trying to find answers.

"So I hear you guys arrested someone," Barba announced his presence, snapping both detectives from their thoughts.

"A little late at night for you to be working isn't it?" Fin asked, looking him up and down, noting that the DA was in a cleanly pressed tuxedo.

"We did but he clammed up. His daughter is in trouble and he clammed up," Olivia shook her head at her colleague's comment and the situation in general.

"You've got him dead to rights and he refuses to tell you? Maybe he's realizing he doesn't know if the guy he trusted with his daughter would actually bring her to where they agreed," Barba pointed out.

"Could be or it could be that this guy is as slimy as we think he is and he's out to save his own skin," Olivia clenched her fists.

"Well book him on what we can charge him with and then we'll worry about just how slimy he is when I speak to him and his court appointed attorney tomorrow morning," Barba nodded.

"What about Samantha? She's spending another night with a pedophile," Olivia wanted to know.

"Unless you have information to act on, we're stuck. I don't want anything messing up putting Boze and Gregg away for life. His attorney will try anything to get any of the charges reduced unless we get a really green one," the DA reminded them. With that he turned and headed out of the squad.

"Book him. I'm going to my office," Olivia heaved a sigh.

To Be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: So this chapter is mostly fluff... Anyway, I think this was needed. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

About two hours later, Olivia opened her front door and quickly locked it behind her. She had to be back into the precinct by seven am and that was approaching in just over nine hours. She hadn't eaten, she desperately needed a shower, and Elliot was still in the apartment somewhere. Quietly removing her shoes, she moved down the hallway and into the living room. There she found Elliot and Noah asleep on the couch; Sports Center was on the television, with the volume down a little low. Olivia cracked a smile at how peaceful they both looked; Noah sleeping on Elliot's chest underneath his little blanket. She hated to wake them but Elliot needed to get back to his place so he could get to his job on time in the morning.

Carefully, she scooped Noah, up blanket and all, and carried him to his room where the crib was waiting for him. Giving him a kiss goodnight, Olivia laid him down and covered him up. Then just as quiet and careful as she had done before, she slipped out of the room and closed the door, leaving it open only a crack. Back out in the living room, she gently shook Elliot awake. He mumbled something incoherently and then realized that Noah was no longer on his chest. Elliot sprang up and immediately conked his head into Olivia's. She tumbled backwards onto the floor, landing on top of some of Noah's toys. Letting out a yelp, she quickly clamped her hands over her mouth. The last thing they needed was for Noah to wake up.

"Oh Liv," Elliot was off the couch in a flash, helping her up off the floor. He checked her head for any signs of injury and looked at her in the eyes. Olivia stared into those blue eyes and went a little weak at the knees. It had been a long time since they had gotten that close to one another and it was like she was a teenager all over again. Elliot saw her waver and he scooped her up and moved her to the couch. Olivia immediately blushed, embarrassed at her behavior.

"I knew my head was hard but I didn't think we'd have to take you to the doctor's," Elliot joked, checking her again to make sure she didn't have a concussion.

"Well I haven't eaten since lunch…" she started.

"Liv! I brought you food!" She could tell he was upset but he popped up off the couch and headed for the refrigerator. When he opened it, he laughed.

"Some things never change. No adult food in here," he chuckled.

"I was going to go shopping for myself but then the case kind of had a mind of its own," Olivia admitted.

"How is it that the fridge is full of baby food then?" Elliot gave her a questioning look.

"They were having a sale at the store last weekend and I stocked up," she said.

"Well Social Services won't be happy if they see this. You have to take care of you and Noah, not just Noah," he said, closing the fridge and moving back to the couch.

"I know," Olivia heaved a sigh.

"Hey, there is no shame if you need help. I can run to the store for you…" Elliot started.

"You've already done so much. I can't ask you for that. I need to figure this out. For me. For Noah. It's just me and him and only one of us can count and speak in complete sentences, so I need to be the one to do what is necessary," she told him as he sat down. He frowned slightly and Olivia worried that she had somehow offended him.

"Liv… I…" he started and then stopped. A look that she hadn't seen in a long time crossed his face. There was something he wanted to say but he wasn't sure how to say it. Usually that was not Elliot. He was blunt and rarely ever minced words but the look she was getting now was the look she had seen when he and Kathy had split for a little while.

"El…" this time she started and stopped. There was a lot to say and somehow they were both still emotionally constipated; unable to say what they wanted to.

"I had better get going," he said suddenly, standing up. Olivia quickly stood up and blocked his path.

"We need to talk about this," she said, not sure she'd heard the words correctly, even though she said them. She was definitely tired but she wasn't going to let him escape before she confronted him.

"Talk about…" she didn't let him finish.

"You said something to me not long ago and I want to know if you meant it," the sentence was vague but she wanted to know if it had been a slip of the tongue or if he'd picked up on what she meant. That old Benson/Stabler connection was getting back into a rhythm as of late and this would prove to her one way or the other.

There was a pause. Almost immediately, Olivia resigned herself to the truth. It had been a slip of the tongue. She could feel her heart break in two. Her chest was tight and her breathing became shallow. She was about to scream when suddenly she found her mouth occupied by his and she froze.

He felt her stiffen and he quickly pulled away. It had been a mistake to kiss her. They were still working through their demons. He should have known better. Then just as he was about to move away, she grabbed him and pulled him to her. Their lips met again and this time neither one held back. In that heated moment, the tension that had been building just increased and the feeling in the pit of Olivia's stomach told her that she didn't want to stop.

Suddenly they were on the couch and Elliot was on top of her. Neither one objected to the move despite how fast they were moving until they needed to come up for air. Then Elliot put the brakes on as he leaned on his hands, mere inches from her face.

"Liv… I…" Once again she cut him off.

"It took me a long time to get over the fact that you just cut and run. I thought I had moved on but the truth is – I never did. I was comparing every man I went out with to you," she admitted.

"So how does Cassidy fit into the equation?" He was confused. It wasn't what he wanted to talk about but he couldn't help himself.

"He almost died. I couldn't lose you both. At first, we both really had something and for a while, I was happy. Then Noah came along and we weren't happy. It wasn't fair to Brian but I couldn't let Noah go back into the system. It looked like my chance at being a mom was back and I jumped at it. I can make a difference in Noah's life and I wanted that more than I wanted Brian," the words all just tumbled out. She'd never said that out loud to anyone before but once again she found she could not hide anything from her former partner. Elliot was just smiling and he leaned down, his hands moving beneath her back, so he could pull her up into the sitting position as he leaned back on his heels.

"I meant what I said. I love you. I love Noah," he admitted.

"I love you too," there she had said it. It was like the wind had knocked her breath away but the truth was now out in the open. Elliot's lips soon found hers in a gentle kiss. What they were both feeling however was no longer gentle and certainly not slow moving. Elliot climbed off of her and couch before scooping her up.

"What are you doing?" She asked; he knew she could walk, as he started to make his way to her bedroom.

"What I should have done years ago," he smirked before he kissed her, this time hard, the need for something more making itself evident as he set her down before closing the door. They knew that they needed to be quiet for Noah's sake despite the fact that Elliot was willing to do anything to get her out of her clothes and onto the bed.

"I… I'moutofpractice," it all rushed out at once and she blushed as Elliot then remembered her ordeal that was not in the so distant past.

"We'll go as far as you want. You say "no" and we stop. I've waited almost seventeen years. I can wait a little while longer," he smiled.

To Be Continued…


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